Does Nonis have the skills to do what's necssary?

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Grizzly
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Post by Grizzly »

I don't get all the people here that say goaltending was our problem...you should be dancing in the streets. We have a top 5 goalie in the league! Did you think he would come for cheap? We have the most important piece that this club was missing for the last decade, and I believe it's easier to replace goal scoring than it is to find a quality goalie.
Excellent comment .... IMO our lack of playoff success in previous years can be attributed to the other teams goaltender outperforming ours. The timely saves we didn't get and they did turned games around ... it made games closer and made them believe they could outscore our players when talent wise it shouldn't have even been an issue.

So now we have that top five goaltender .... we should be happy because Luongo he is a very pertinent piece of the puzzle for any championship team ... Yes he wasn't cheap and it cost us some scoring in Bert ... but the reality was that Bert was unfortunately struggling with many issues and we weren't really getting the production out of him either.

So for those who consider to blame the acquisition of Luongo on our scoring woes its not completely accurate .... there are many factors contributing to our lack of production ... IMO drafting and scouting is probably the biggest problem we have that needs to be addressed ... at least from a long term perspective.

We can hypothetically trade for a scorer now but when he leaves the underlying problem will still be there ... unless ... we can scout and draft well and have players coming up through our organization. Its also for the most part cheaper salary wise to get a young budding superstar through the draft than trade for a veteran or proven scorer who likely already comes with a hefty price tag.

Grizz
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magnum44
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Post by magnum44 »

I agree that the weakness of our farm system has to be addressed but that is a long term project. I don't think this years team really has a shot at doing much in the POs (if they can even make it) and we can't continue to handcuff ourselves vis a vis the cap. As much as it would suck in the short term I think DN needs to use this season to set us up for the future by trading Cooke, BMo, Salo and Naslund for picks and prospects and giving some of our current prospects development time on the Canucks (most lilely securing us a high pick for next year).
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Sid Dithers
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Post by Sid Dithers »

I have no real problems with most of Nonis' moves so far, taken on a one-by-one basis. My real problem is that he loaded this team up with forwards like Kessler, Cooke, Linden, Green, Chouinard, Bulis, Santala, Burrows, Bouck and Shultz, and expected they would be able to score enough. I am not the least bit surprised by the Canucks scoring woes. The guys listed above are stiffs, offensively.
Let's review. In a cap system, the GM MUST:
1. Be able to identify talent.
2. Be able to get that talent into your lineup under the cap.

But if you aren't good at #1, then #2 doesn't matter a whole lot. And that's what worries me about DN. He thought/hoped this group could score enough. They can't. That's a problem that lands at nobody else's feet but DN. Unless he's a real quick learner, I don't really think he's the man for the job. Because that's all I heard during the summer...
IF Cooke can get 20..
IF Linden can get 15 or so...
IF Chouinard can pump his 14 from last year up to 20...
IF Bulis can get 25...
IF Morrison can regain his form of 2003...
IF Shultz's 37 in Manitoba can translate into 20 up here...
IF Burrows can get 15...

Let's face it. If you have to say 'IF' a whole bunch of times, you are hoping. I want a GM who can do more than hope. I want a GM who can be reasonably certain of the kind of players he's signing/trading for. This year's Canucks lineup was built on hope. And they're still hoping. Meanwhile, I'm resigned to the fact that they will come up short, won't make the playoffs and will bore the hell out of me with this style of play.
By the way, I HOPE I win the 6/49 next week.
:roll:
AraChniD iS stoOpiDz!
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Island Nucklehead
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Post by Island Nucklehead »

Well the thing is, until we hit the playoffs, it really dosn't matter. IF we make the playoffs (notice the IF), there's always the potential to do damage. Just look at what Edmonton (8th) and Calgary (7th) have done these past two years. They didn't win it, but they came close. IMO, it's much easier for a player to go on a roll, score 20 points in 12 games etc, than it is for a goalie to get hot. Therfore, if we have a goalie who (when he's hot) could be the best in the game, I'd rather go with that and hope a scorer gets hot in the crunch, than rellying on our keeper to do the same if the roles are reversed.
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Post by Farhan Lalji »

I can't answer as to whether Nonis is "qualified" or not, but here are a few things that annoyed me:

1) Letting Carter walk. IMO - offering Carter 1.8 million was a major slap in the face. Granted - Carter's asking price of 3 million was also ridiculous, but Carter should've (and would've) been had for $2.5 mill. Successful teams NEVER change a winning gameplan. In the Canucks' case, the Sedin/Sedin/Carter line was a major strong suit for us. Not only that, but the Sedins' and Carter seemed to have REALLY developed a genuine friendship and respect for one another. Things like this don't show up on the score sheet.

Think about it. When the WCE line was at its peak, most people knew that almost ANYONE could play between Naslund and Bertuzzi (and look good). However, why tinker with that chemistry? Why get rid of Morrison, and have Harold Druken or Josh Holden play with em?

Is Anson Carter worth 2.5/3 million? On 29 other teams.....no. On the Canucks however, he was. His on ice hockey smarts and chemistry with the Sedins', MADE him worth that much.

2) Signing Kesler. I mean really. How do you "overpay" Kesler by 1 million, and yet let Carter walk?

3) Trying to build a "balanced" team while having 6 guys on the team making over 3 million.
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Island Nucklehead
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Post by Island Nucklehead »

Point 1) Carter as a player was not worth 2.5 million. I'm sorry, he just wasn't. One dimensional, yes he could position his body so the Sedins could bank pucks off him, but put him anywhere else and he's basically useless. I would have gladly signed him for 1.8, Think about it, you're paying the Sedin's just over 3 million each! They are the new offensive core of this team, and you want to pay Dancin' Anson Carter 2.5? No way. Case in point, before he was hurt, Taylor Pyatt was on pace for 30 goals with them. For less than a million. Carter got greedy, and asked for money based on numbers only...I can't blame him for this, but I sure as hell don't have to pay him either.

Point 2) Our hand was forced on Kesler. As much as I hate Bob Clarke, we can't let him take our first round pick (Kesler) in exchange for only a second. It's principle. Yes it screwed us, but it showed (to me, anyways) that DN has some balls and is not willing to be bullied by a mouthpiece. Kesler, in my opinion, will be more valuable to this franchise in the long run than Carter.

Point 3) This is a product a few things. The cap (guys like Ohlund, Morrison, Naslund were signed before it), skill (Luongo, Sedins, no explanation required), and having to overpay for Free Agents (Mitchell). Teams like Anaheim have the luxury of being shitty until the cap came in, therby giving them more leverege. Also, their ability to rely on recent draft picks (Getzlaf, Perry, Penner even Beauchemin) will eventually put them in the same boat we are come contract time.
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